Kachchaleswarar Temple, also known as the Great Kachali Pagoda, is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

located in Armenian Street, in the neighbourhood of Parry's corner (Old: George Town) in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

city, Tamil Nadu,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Constructed on land belonging to ''dubash'' Kalavai Chetty in 1725, the temple belonged to the left-hand castes and was the site of the first major conflict between left and right-handed castes in the then Madras city. The temple is modelled on the Kachaaleshwarar temple at

Kancheepuram Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its temple ...

. Kachaaleshwarar (

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

) is the main deity and Soundaraambika (

Parvathi Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

), the consort deity.

History

Facade of Kacchaaleeshwarar Koil, Chennai

Pillaiyar Thoppu at Kachchaaleeshwar Koil, Chennai

The temple was built in 1725 by Kalavai Chetty, a 'dubash' working for the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, on a land belonging to him. Chetty was a devotee of Lord Shiva at the namesake temple at Kanchipuram, who used to visit it regularly. When torrential rains prevented him from commuting between Kanchipuram and Chennai, he and his wife Sundariammal decided to build a new temple to the same deity at Chennai and constructed the temple and consecrated within a period of three years by 1728. The street on which the temple stands was originally came to be known as "Katchala Pagoda Street", after the "Great Kachali Pagoda" as the temple was known then. A huge retinue of dancing girls were attached to the temple in the earlier days. These dancing girls resided in a quarter adjoining the temple since about 1700. The temple happened to be the cause of one of "Black Town's" first caste disputes as it belonged to the Left-Hand Caste. With the government's intervention, a new approach to the temple was built without encroaching on Right-Hand Caste property. A plaque in the temple records the year of the first ''kumbhaabishekam'' (consecration) as 1728. Post-Independence, a ''mahaa-kumbhaabishekam'' (great consecration) was held on 8 July 1962. A major renovation of the temple began on 20 February 1984 and another great consecration was held on 9 July 1989. TempleTank KachchaaleshwararKoil Chennai

TempleTank KachchaaleshwararKoil Chennai

The temple

The main deity of the temple is Lord Kachchaleswarar (Shiva) and his consort goddess Soundharambika (Parvathi). A five-faced Ganesh and Subramanya abut the main sanctum. The main idol is a 5-tier

Shiva Ling A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...

, a structure known as the ''panchasanam'', adored with

tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...

, simhasanam (lion-throne), yugasanam, kamalam (

lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

) and vimalam. A Shiva–Parvathi idol is present behind the main Shiva Ling. The inner corridor has several idols including the Shivite saints such as

Sambandar Sambandar (Tamil: சம்பந்தர்), also referred to as Tirugnana Sambandar (lit. ''Holy Sage Sambandar''), Tirujnanasambanda, Campantar or Jñāṉacampantar, was a Shaiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th cen ...

Appar Appar, also referred to as ( ta, திருநாவுக்கரசர்) or Navukkarasar, was a seventh-century Tamil Śaiva poet-saint. Born in a peasant Śaiva family, raised as an orphan by his sister, he lived about 80 years and is ...

Sundarar Sundarar (Tamil: சுந்தரர்), also referred to as Chuntarar, Chuntaramurtti, Nampi Aruran or Tampiran Tolan, was an eighth-century poet-saint of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta tradition of Hinduism. He is among the Tevaram trio, and one o ...

, and

Manikkavacakar Manikkavacakar, or Maanikkavaasagar ''(Tamil: மாணிக்கவாசகர், "One whose words are like gems")'', was a 9th-century Tamil saint and poet who wrote ''Tiruvasakam'', a book of Shaiva hymns. Speculated to have been a minis ...

; Kachchappa Shivacchariyar; and Haradhatta; among others. Other shrines in the temple include

Navagraha Navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu astrology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( sa, नव "nine") and ''graha'' ( sa, ग्रह "planet, seizing, laying hold of, ...

Dattatreya Dattatreya ( sa, दत्तात्रेय, ), Dattā or Dattaguru, is a paradigmatic Sannyasi (monk) and one of the lords of yoga, venerated as a Hindu god. In Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Madhya ...

, 63 Nayanmars, and

Ayyappa Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion t ...

History

The temple

See also

References

Further reading